Mad Men's 40 Best Looks Ever

Mad Men's final season kicks off this Sunday on AMC at 10pm/9c, and while there's a lot to love about the spicy show, one of our favorite love affairs is with the fashion.

Cue: Janie Bryant, the Emmy-award winning costume designer behind the cast of Mad Men's looks. Her skills speak to the time in which the show takes place (the 1960s) impeccably. She captures the essence of a Madison Avenue-housed advertising agency with each and every look from chic housewife styles and looks that embody the mod mood happening in the '60s to powerhouse work wear — each of which is usually decorated with a double-strand of pearls or beautiful brooches. Needless to say, (a Banana Republic line later, after all) Bryant's costuming made a dent. The memorable looks she creates—which are part her own designs, part vintage finds—perfectly epitomize the period while leaving us yearning to recreate the looks ourselves (if you want a little dose of her killer style in your own closet, keep your eyes peeled for her own tights line, Janie Bryant Leg Couture, which launches this August).

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Jordin Althaus/AMC

Peggy "wore her beautiful, beautiful wool navy shift dress with the printed scarf at the neck. It had buttons—it was like double breasted buttons—down the front,” says costume designer Janie Bryant. “And her beret! I loved the idea of that beret because the back story of it is that I thought Peggy’s mom would’ve knit that for her and given it to her as a gift. I love that beret! When she was wearing it in that last scene, it breaks my heart," Bryant tells us.

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Michael Yarish/AMC

“Megan Draper is a very modern character,” says Bryant. “I love the whole idea of her costume being light, airy, fresh, and new — and, of course, having the element of the sleeve being flowy. The air hitting the chiffon and all of the movement of the costume was really important,” dished the costume designer about her favorite look from episode one.

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Justina Mintz/AMC

Joan wore a vintage dress when everyone in the office was gathered around about the news of getting a computer. "There are so many people in that scene, so I wanted Joan to be in a very dynamic color so that she would really stand out," Bryant tells us.

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Courtesy of AMC

For the party Megan throws, Bryant chose to costume her in a standout piece. “In terms of working with the production designer and the set decorator, it was very important for her dress to be very graphic and to really stand out within that set since it was a dark, nighttime, party scene,” Bryant tells us.

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"Betty is a character who is truly classic, she is a housewife and a politician’s wife. Betty always presents herself as an image of perfection. So her costumes are very crisp and timeless. I tried to give her an update with the prints—they’re a little more modern," Bryant shares with us. "Her skirts are little shorter, too. But they’re not too short—they’re not a mini, they’re to the mid-thigh. It’s a very tasteful, appropriate length for that time. It’s all about being appropriate and pretty," she adds.

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Courtesy of AMC

Bryant rented a real chinchilla fur coat from a furrier in Los Angeles for this intimate scene with Don and a half-naked model. "It’s truly a miracle that the furrier even had a chinchilla coat because it is the most fragile of all furs–they usually don't last long–so we handled that coat with crazy good care. We took it from her in between every single take: she wasn’t allowed to sit in it and she wasn’t allowed the stand around in it. She could only wear the coat when she was shooting that scene" Bryant tells us.

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Michael Yarish/AMC

Don and Rodger Sterling took a group of "very young, fashionable, and beautiful girls" on a date. "Those three girls were definitely all about what was happening in 1970. It was so very important to see the contrast of class in that scene," says Bryant. "And I love those orange pleated sleeves. I use the accordion pleat a lot," she adds.

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Michael Yarish/AMC

After Joan and Peggy are hit with a slew of sexually charged jokes in an office meeting, the two share a powerful scene in the elevator. "It’s important that Joan was wearing a very strong color in that scene; it illustrates her sassiness and her command but it was also important that the color was more feminine and provocative than what she normally wears," Bryant points out. "It was also important that there was a v-neckline on that dress–just to illustrate how terrible those guys were."

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Michael Yarish/AMC

While out at the Los Angeles office, Joan finds passion with a rich divorced real estate developer named Richard who, after an intimate night in L.A., followed her back to New York to continue their new-found romance. For their night together in L.A., Joan stunned in a shimmering royal blue sheath with an embellished neckline. Joan skipped out on her signature pendant necklace and instead accessorized with statement chandelier earrings and a cocktail ring.

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After a booze-filled night with Rodger, Peggy walks right into the new offices at McCann-Erickson wearing a printed top and button-front A-line skirt with sunglasses, red lipstick, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. To complete her badass style, Peggy carried all of her belongings (including a racy painting at her side) with stride, which was arguably one of the best Mad Men moments yet.